Aurora Energy Metals (ASX:1AE) increases uranium deposit by 34 pc since May IPO

Aurora Energy Metals (1AE) has increased its uranium resource by 34 per cent to more than 50 million pounds of triuranium octoxide since listing on the ASX in May this year.

The company is working at its 100-per-cent-owned project in the US, in south-east Oregon, amid the lithium-rich McDermitt Caldera.

While Aurora listed on the market with a significant existing uranium resource, its project is also prospective for lithium, which is known to lie in sediments both around and above the uranium deposit.

Managing Director Greg Cochran said both were commodities of high investor interest given that clean energy was a global priority.

“We had this foundation of a good uranium deposit, backed by a good team, with a compelling story around significant lithium blue sky, in a country where the tailwinds have never been better for nuclear and for critical battery minerals,” Mr Cochran said.

“All that worked in our favour, and post the IPO, we’ve been able to deliver on a lot of our promises as well.”

Mr Cochran said the company was excited by its progress in converting much of the ‘indicated’ uranium resource to the ‘measured’ category and firming up the lithium potential.

“The deposit is in a high proportion measured and indicated; it’s indeed the largest, mineable, measured and indicated uranium deposit in the USA,” he said.

“This is a uranium deposit that attracts strategic interest because of its scale, and watch the blue-sky potential around lithium and how big that can grow.

“Our next-door neighbour, Jindalee Resources (JRL), has a resource of more than 1.8 billion tonnes.

“Our current focus area is maybe 80 per cent of Jindalee’s area, so even if one is only partially successful, compared to Jindalee — assuming the same grades on the exploration side — we have a significant, or we are sitting on a significant, lithium resource, and that would be a really exciting message to tell.”

Aurora has finished a drilling program and is waiting on assay results.

Aurora has a market cap around $25 million and shares were trading at 18 cents at 2:14 pm (AEDT).